Demonland

Reckon they overvalued Schultz and got played by the best in the business at barrel rolling. Sneaking suspicion they let Ginny go for ... uh ... cultural reasons *ducks for cover*

If the club dies maybe they will be rewarded in heaven.

And they'll get it because they are good negotiators, demand a ridiculous amount, don't roll over and end up getting less than they asked for but more than it's worth.

I assume that all the speeches will be uploaded to the website/YouTube over the next few days.

It was such a balmy spring evening for this mid-week BNCA Pink Lady match at our favourite venue Ikon Park between two teams that had not won a game since round one. After last week’s insipid bombing, the DeeArmy banner correctly deemanded that our players ‘go in hard, go in strong, go in fighting’, and girl they sure did! The first quarter goals by Alyssa Bannan and Alyssia Pisano were simply stunning, and it was 4 goals to nil by half-time. Kudos to Mick Stinear. With player confidence at the lowest point in his decorated coaching career, Mick reset the game plan during the week. “Simplifying it”, he said. On match day his reenergised troops enthusiastically carried it out with tremendous effort and brought back that Demon-stylewe love to watch. Led by Alyce Parker and Bec Beeson, GWS came back in the third to make it a 3-goal difference at ¾ time. Meggs began nervously pacing the wing, trying to put the ghost of the Freo comeback out of mind. At the ground you could see our debutants tiring in the last. But when Fitzy snapped that ripper goal, the collective relief and pleasure from Demon supporters was palpable. With Pisano, Johnson, Taylor, Madigan, and D’Arcy in the circle for their first win, the players joyous sounding rendition of Grand Old Flag filled the stadium. Smiles all around. The 16-point win in the context of this season is a timely ReDeemption. For the Dees Shouldering the burden this season has been skewed to a handful of senior players but this week the team brought a collective effort which resulted in the win. The midfield worked well led by Kate Hore and Tyla Hanks, working alongside Heathy, and Fitzy. With Bannan deepest, the forwards Gall, Campbell, and D’Arcy led to the ball much better this week. Maeve Chaplin (team-high 5 marks) and Sinead Goldrick were impenetrable in defence, and both had over 400 metres gained. Chappy has found a whole new level this year, our most improved. Apart from the stellar efforts by Kate Hore, Hanksy, Chappy, and Goldy, Meggs wanted to call out the contribution of a couple of lesser lights. Rhi Watt who, with 21 hitouts and 6 clearances, had her best game in the red and blue. Seasoned campaigner, top-up Dee Sarah D’Arcy, and a relative of Tiger legend Jack Titus, impressed with her fearless leading and attack on the ball. A great in-game example to youngsters Gall and Campbell. Megan Fitzsimon has modest career possessions, but you want the ball in her hand as she is skillful and a good user. A match-high 9 tackles, 13 possessions and a goal, was a super contribution by Fitzy. Her best game for some time. Denby Taylor has speed, good skills and likes to tackle and would be pleasing the coaches. Coaches and next week Melbourne Coach Mick Stinear said Kate Hore and Tyla Hanks led from the front after a shaky start to the season. He was really proud of them. He loved how his group was able to execute a simpler game plan and compete for large portions of the match. It was great for all the debutants to secure a win and be part of that winning feeling. GWS Giants coach was disappointed with the result but rued their inability to execute in moments. An AFLW season goes by so quickly, and they have lost a few close games, including tonight. Zero goals to 4 at half-time and they gave away 27 free kicks. He claimed his GWS team was one of the youngest, least experienced sides in the competition and so it is all part of the journey. The Demons play perennial heavyweight Adelaide at Norwood Oval next Wednesday evening. A tough challenge away but we do have 100%-win record at this ground 😉. C’mon Dees. MELBOURNE 2.3.15 4.3.27 5.5.35 6.5.41 GWS GIANTS 0.4.4 0.5.5 2.5.17 3.7.25 GOALS MELBOURNE Bannan 2 Fitzsimon Gall Lampard Pisano GWS GIANTS Mowbray 2 Goldsworthy BEST MELBOURNE Hore Hanks Bannan Chaplin Fitzsimon GWS GIANTS Goldsworthy Parker Beeson Mowbray Evans INJURIES MELBOURNE Nil GWS GIANTS Nil VENUE 1,264 at Ikon Park

Part 1: From Little Things by Whispering Jack The festival of player movement kicked off yesterday with the opening day of the Free Agency Period which resulted in six players changing clubs including journeyman ruckman Tom Campbell who landed at Melbourne, his fourth club after playing only 58 AFL games in 14 seasons. The other players to find new homes as free agents were Josh Battle (St Kilda to Hawthorn), Harry Perryman (GWS Giants to Collingwood), Isaac Cumming (GWS Giants to Adelaide), Nick Haynes (GWS Giants to Carlton) and Elliott Himmelberg (Adelaide to Gold Coast Suns). The Saints received a first round national draft pick (currently #8) as compensation for Battle while the Giants collected picks currently 16 and 21 for Perryman and Cumming. If Melbourne receives Adelaide’s current second round pick as expected for Alex Neal-Bullen, that selection will be pushed back to at least 28. For those supporters who regard the 201cm Campbell as slim pickings, it should be noted his recruitment comes as cover in the event of injury to skipper Max Gawn and in that regard, it’s a good strategy. Think of the role that Brisbane’s Darcy Fort played in his team’s premiership win last week when Oscar McInerney was ruled unfit for the Grand Final. Melbourne AFL List Manager Tim Lamb also pointed out that Campbell “is an outstanding character, and will provide depth and maturity in our ruck stocks, which has been a focus for us this off season”, an important consideration that should be lost on nobody after the Demons’ turbulent last 12 months. While yesterday’s news represents a small first step in the club’s long journey towards recovery after falling out of the 2024 finals race and into bottom six territory, the situation brings to mind the Paul Kelly-Kevin Carmody protest song, "From Little Things Big Things Grow" which fits given the level of upset and the cloud hanging over the club stemming from various issues including the future of some champion premiership players. As it is, we farewelled a few of them last night at the club’s best and fairest, notably Angus Brayshaw (medical retirement), Alex Neal-Bullen (Adelaide) and Ben Brown (retirement). All three gave heartfelt, emotional farewell speeches and expressed their gratitude and love for the club they were leaving. Without wishing to sound unfair to the other speakers on the night, Gus was once again not just outstanding but inspirational! We badly need his presence and example around the club and await the time when he’s ready to take that step. There were similar sentiments expressed by the award winners, both young and old, during the evening which culminated in a photo finish for the Keith “Bluey” Truscott Memorial Trophy fittingly won by Jack Viney who nudged out skipper Max Gawn and Neal-Bullen. The award winners were presented by Simon Goodwin who gave us a pep talk about “the process” and “self improvement”. The club also farewelled Lachie Hunter who is retiring after recurring calf injuries and delisted pair Josh Schache and Kyah Farris-White. When interviewed along with Caleb Windsor, Ed Langdon stressed that the number of promising young players who, like the young winger, have been given the opportunity to debut in the past couple of seasons, gives rise to his optimism for 2025 and beyond. I was concerned that the event might suffer from the negativity of the moment in which the club finds itself given the finish to the season and the number of elephants hanging around the room and in the media. It was good for starters to see Clarry there. Kozzy was also back from his northern sojourn but there was no direct stream from the Austrian alps where Tracc is on his Red Bull boot camp. A lot of credit should be given to the presenters who kept the evening bubbling over. It all started with acting president Brad Green (did you know he once trialed with Manchester United?) and a farewell speech from former president Kate Roffey who spoke nicely of her 12 years at the club and gave the first of many plugs on the night to the Demon Army. We all breathed a sigh of relief that Gerrard Whateley wasn’t available to conduct any interviews. Green made a bold statement about next week’s trading to the effect that the name “Clayton Oliver” will not be involved, a sentiment I’ve heard expressed on a few occasions in recent times. He added: “I know come round 1 next year when I see the first ball bounced and our midfield of (Max) Gawn, (Jack) Viney, Oliver and (Christian) Petracca, and our first clearance, that you Melbourne faithful will be there in full force.” Green was always reliable as a player and I’m chuffed that he’s added the role of chairman of selectors to his portfolio but I feel there’s a lot of water to flow under the bridge before the Round Zero or Round One lineup is announced. Starting with Monday’s Trade Period opening which promises a few surprises.

Welcome to Demonland from Zebraland

Not sure if this has been posted.